Affordable Damp Solutions: How To Fix Moisture Problems on a Budget

Although peeling or discoloured walls may not seem like big problems, damp should never be ignored. It can quickly progress beyond messing up your home’s aesthetics, and if you fail to stamp it out early enough you could be looking at expensive repair work. Fortunately, there are some simple, inexpensive steps you can take at home to eliminate damp, or at least slow its progression until you can get the professionals in.

Regular Self-Inspections

The advice that prevention is better than cure holds true when it comes to damp. That is why it is important to regularly inspect your property, so you can find potential causes of damp issues and fix them early at a low cost. Take a look around the outside of your house for cracks in the wall, deterioration in the seals around windows and doors, missing roof tiles, and blocked or leaky gutters. Inside, check any visible piping for leaks.

Let Fresh Air Circulate

Poor ventilation is a leading cause of condensation, a common type of damp. You will need a condensation specialist to treat advanced cases where there is a lot of damage, but you can prevent condensation yourself by increasing the airflow in your property. Open windows for at least a few minutes each day, and open internal doors to let air circulate. Trickle vents are also an effective, low-cost way to deliver a constant stream of fresh air without causing draughts.

Use Extractor Fans

Air flow prevents condensation because it moves humid air out of a building before it can come into contact with cool surfaces like walls, ceilings, and windows. Sometimes, natural air flow alone is not enough to do this effectively. This is often the case in kitchens and bathrooms, where steam and vapour are constantly added to the air. In environments like these, using an extractor fan to remove the humid air is essential.

Anti-Damp Paint and Waterproofing

Wet-wall repair can be expensive, especially if the damp progresses to a point where replastering is required. It is far cheaper and a lot easier to give your walls a basic waterproof coating yourself. This acts as a barrier to prevent moisture reaching the interior surfaces of your property. Anti-damp paint is one option for your interior walls, while waterproofing sprays can be an effective external wall-damp treatment. However, make sure you only coat dry surfaces.

Improve Drainage Around Your Home

Common methods of preventing rising damp, like a DPC injection, tend to be tricky for amateurs to apply correctly. However, you can help guard against rising damp and other issues by stopping water from pooling around the base of your property. For example, make sure gutters and downpipes are effectively carrying water away from the building and are not clogged and overflowing. You can also adjust soil levels around your property to make sure that they gently slope away.

Being early and investing in prevention are the keys to stopping damp affordably. However, spending on ineffective solutions will only add to the cost, so always call an expert to deal with existing damp problems that you cannot diagnose. Contact London Damp Proofing Ltd on 0208 226 6330 today to start finding effective solutions to damp in your property.